>> the leaders of china's communist party says he's open to high level dialogue between his country and japan. but xi jinping argues the right environment needs to be established first. japanese survivors of the hostage crisis in algeria are

back home along with the bodies of nine colleagues. the nation's leaders vow to continue their fight against terrorism. welcome to nhk world "newsline". the head of the chinese communist party want leaders from his country and japan to sit down and talk. xi jinping says he's seriously considering the possibility of high level dialogue but before it can happen he says the right environment needs to be established. japan/china relations have been strained since last fall because of a territorial dispute. xi made the comments after meeting with a senior japanese politician. natsuo yamaguchi leads the new komeito party. he delivered a letter from prime minister shinzo abe. natsuo yamaguchi told xi his visit marks the first step in improving relations. he says it's important to continue dialogue leading to a bilateral summit. xi jinping said he respects abe. he said abe was active in strengthening ties the last time he was prime minister and he said he hopes abe will continue

with that work. >> translator: i hope this meeting will improve japan/china relations. it reflects china's desire to improves ties. xi referred to the dispute over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls the territory but china and taiwan claims it. he said china and japan differ on the matter and it's important to resolve tissue through dialogue. he said facing up to history will lead to a better future. some experts on japan/china relations say the chinese leaders comments are too vague. we spoke with a professor to teaches international relations in kyoto. >> translator: the chinese government hopes that japan will head in the same direction as china and take meaningful steps to restore and improve bilateral ties. some experts on japan-china relations say the chinese

leader's comments are too vague. the letter described the two countries as having one of the most important bilateral relationships. he said that he wrote he hopes to promote strategic ties that benefit both sides. he described his talks as an important meeting. he said xi clarified the direction the two countries should take to ensure a prosperous future. >> translator: the chinese government hopes that japan will head in the same direction as china and take meaningful steps to restore and improve bilateral ties. some experts on japan-china relations say the chinese leader's comments are too vague. we spoke to a man who teaches international relations in

kyoto. >> it's too ambiguous what they have in mind. if they stop sending ships or aircraft to our territory, probably it should be a good sign. but it doesn't say that specifically in such an ambiguous statement. we need more better environment to be able to talk more frankly, but the point is that this will not be built in a day. probably this kind of mutual trust, we need something of mutual trust to discuss more details of the relationship. so probably we should continue exchanging some words of goodwill, this kind of words of goodwill so that we can eventually lessen the psychological barriers of difficulties we might have between the two countries.

analysts say that north korea completed manufacture the preparations for a nuclear test by the end of last year. north korean authorities suggested on thursday that they're ready to carry out a nuclear test in response to a u.n. sanction's resolution. analysts at johns hopkins university posted a satellite photo online of the nuclear test site. they were taken between november and december. analysts believe the photos confirm their approach to a command bunker some 150 meters north of the entrance. they believe it houses equipment to control a detonator and to communicate with authorities in pyongyang. they also say that a device to measure radiation levels and a

radio system have been installed. north korean authoritiesd their readiness to conduct another test. the security council condemned north korea's december rocket launch. north korean authorities are warning south korea of counter measures if it takes part in u.n. sanctions. a north korean statement criticizes south korea for pressing other nations to adopt the u.n. resolution condemning last month's rocket launch. it says sanctions amount to a declaration of war and warns of what it calls strong physical countermeasures if the south koreans participate in them directly. authorities in pyongyang say there will be no more bilateral discussions on the issue of denuclearization on the korean

peninsula. they add a 1992 joint declaration on that issue is no longer valid. north korea's words and possible actions are raising the heat in east asia, along with threatening another nuclear test. authorities in the reclusive nation are promising more rocket launches. japanese defense ministry analysts say the north now have a missing that could travel more than 10,000 kilometers, far enough to reach the u.s. west coast. japan and other countries north korean officials say they used a rocket to put a satellite into orbit but japan and other countries believe they were testing ballistic missile technology. the defense ministry analysts say they believe something went into orbit but they doubt it's a functioning satellite. they say they believe the launch involved an upgraded model of the ballistic missile and conclude the missile development has entered a new stage, something they're calling a grave concern for global security.

the seven japanese survivors of the hostage crisis in algeria flew home safely on friday. the government plane also carried nine of their ten colleagues who were killed in the siege. foreign minister fumio kishida welcomed the survivors and officials who accompanied them on their arrival in tokyo. the japanese hostages were among hundreds of natural gas plant workers taken captive by islamist militants in algeria. they were working for the engineering firm jgc corporation. 27 foreign nationals were killed along with 10 japanese. one jgc staff member who was missing and later confirmed dead will be returned to japan on saturday. prime minister shinzo abe met with his cabinet ministers to discuss the hostage crisis and offered silent prayers for the victims. >> translator: please allow us to express our deepest sympathy for the victims and their families.

the chief cabinet secretary will oversee the investigation of this case. he'll also introduce measures to ensure the safety of japanese nationals and firms abroad. >> abe vowed to continue the fight against terrorism together with the international community. the president of jgc corporation has expressed regret over the hostage crisis in algeria. he held a news conference just after returning to japan with seven survivors and nine victims. >> translator: jgc's employees involved in development projects abroad take pride in their work. which contributes to the economic development of the host countries. each one of our engineers is an

asset and jgc is supported by them. we have lost many extremely competent staff members who were involved in the algeria project. >> kawana said the crisis has forced jgc to tackle the crucial problem of how it can continue doing business overseas while ensuring the safety of its workers. he said the company will place top priority on this matter. kawana added that the company will do everything it can to confirm the safety of one foreign staff member who remains missing. aviation authorities in the united states and japan are keeping in closer contact these days. most of their discussions involve the 787 dreamliner. the boeing-made plane has been grounded, following a series of problems. the biggest involves the jet's batteries. nhk world brings us up to speed

on the investigation. >> reporter: investigators with the u.s. national transportation safety board have spent hours picking through the remains of a japan airlines 787 battery, hoping to find out why it caught fire earlier this month, while the plane was on the tarmac in boston. >> we do not expect to see fire events on board aircrafts. this is a very serious air safety concern. >> reporter: the lithium ion batteries play a key role in improving the 787's fuel efficiency. dreamliners have two sets of them. one is under the cockpit and provides backup energy in an emergency. the other is under the passenger cabin. it starts the jet's engines. the eight-cell batteries weigh half as much as conventional

motors but provide the same amount of power. the problem is, they are more susceptible to catching fire when they overheat. in the japan airlines case, the battery caught fire, ntsb chair says there is evidence of short circuiting. when high temperatures trigger an uncontrollable reaction. >> the photo on the right and you can see the cells outlined in red, show the eight damaged cells of our battery that we're investigating in the lab. >> reporter: hersman says among the battery's eight cells, three were heavily damaged. they are trying to figure out that those are different than others. >> we're working very hard to determine what happened and why it happened. we'll look at failure scenarios

and coordinating with colleagues around the world. >> reporter: aviation authorities in japan are also looking at the battery problem. they have been examining the charred front battery from all nippon airways 787. officials detected smoke coming from it last week. the crew made an emergency landing in western japan. investigators say the flight data recorder gives no indication that excessive volt age ran through the battery. but they are not ruling out the possibility of an overcharge. >> translator: we do not see evidence of overcharging. but it is too early to say if there is no excessive voltage. we would like to uncover the cause of the trouble through the examination of other data and the battery. >> reporter: no one can say when the investigation will wrap up and how the investigation will affect the 787 dreamliner.

until then, dozens these jets will stay grounded. boeing will continue to build the plane, but the company won't make deliveries. the eight airlines operating the 787 and dozens of airlines hoping add this plane to their fleets will have to maintain a holding pattern. nhk world, tokyo. pakistan and other countries have been targets of drone strikes used in counter-terrorism operations by the u.s. now the united nations is investigating the implications of unmanned aircraft. our reporter in bangkok has the details. the office of the u.n. high

commissioner for human rights is assigning a group of specialists to review drone attacks. it announced on thursday that the team will look into the legality of drones and their affect on civilians. the united states has used remote controlled, unmanned aircraft to carry out strikes against armed militants in countries including pakistan, afghanistan and yemen. the u.n. special repertoire on human rights and counterterrorism announces that the inquiry will focus on the civilian impact of the use of drones and other forms of targeted killing. it will do a critical examination of civilian casualties with a view to making recommendations to the u.n. general assembly. pakistanis are growing increasingly critical of the attacks. they claim they are a violation of their country's sovereignty and have killed many civilians. a spokesperson for the pakistani foreign ministry welcomes the move by the u.n. >> pakistan, as you rightly pointed out, along with other like-minded countries had called for examining, among other things, the targeted killings, including drone strikes, particularly when they result in the deaths of civilians and noncombatants. >> the u.s. government considers

drone attacks covert operations and refuses to disclose detailed information on them. vietnam's communist party is marking 40 years since the paris peace accords which ended direct military involvement in the country. a ceremony held in hanoi on friday was the first nationally sponsored event to observe the 1973 deal. it is likely a move by the

communist party to gain wider support by emphasizing the historic achievement. the cold war split the country into northern and southern regimes which fought fiercely. the united states which supported south vietnam signed the peace agreement in paris on january 27th, 1973. the anti-war movement gained momentum and two years later, the u.s. withdrew from the former south vietnamese capital of saigon. the president emphasized the legitimacy of one-party rule by the communist party. >> translator: the paris peace accord was our largest diplomatic victory in the war with the united states. there's an outstanding historical event. >> sung added that his country must learn from history in order to protect its independence, sovereignty and territory. a ceremony has been held in

april every year to observe the fall of saigon which marked the end of the south vietnam regime but friday's event was the first to celebrate the paris peace accords. observers say that the vietnamese government is trying to project an image of a strong nation as china increases its maritime assertiveness in the south china sea. brunei is the chair nation of asean this year. the role brings with it a heavy burden, managing asean member states and their competing claims with china over parts of the south china sea. the situation is extra complicated for brunei. it's one of the parties wrapped up in the dispute but it also enjoys strong economic links with beijing. we have this report. >> reporter: with a population of just 420,000, brunei relies on wealth to make its presence felt in a region of more than 600 million people.

the country ranks second among asean members behind singapore in terms of gdp per capita with nearly $36,000. much of that wealth comes from the country's oil and natural gas fields. they account for more than 50% of gdp. most of these resources lie at the bottom of the south china sea, a region where bruni and other asean members share territorial disputes with an increasingly assertive china. even so, they enjoy cordial relations with beijing. in recent years, chinese authorities have made efforts to strengthen ties with the resource-rich nation. china's interest became clear with the series of visits by premier wen jiabao in november 2011 and the foreign minister in

august of last year. economic relations are booming. within an hour's drive of central brunei, here's the construction site of the highway. as you can see, the construction is taking place in the middle of the jungle. a chinese state-owned company is in charge of constructing the bypass. its main purpose will to be reduce traffic congestion between the capital and the western suburbs. brunei has a strong incentive to develop bilateral ties. it's anxious to prepare for the future when it can no longer depend on fossil fuels.

oil and natural gas represent more than 90% of exports. securing alternative sources of income from abroad is a national imperative. this company produces -- that's prepared in line with islam tradition. it aims to sell its products in china where the number of muslims is estimated to exceed 20 million. last year, asean was chaired by cambodia, another country with strong links to china. otr mberthat resent rifts

he region.growg aseness >> good morning. >> reporter: the question now is how brunei as a new chair of asean chooses to balance its own interests. >> we should provide the environment for the claimants to settle this peacefully. it's going to be very slow process. but i think we need to be sure that it is a process that at the end of the day will be a win/win situation for all of us. >> reporter: government officials in brunei say they aim for a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes by trying to define a legally binding code of conduct. on one hand, they are eager to develop good relations with their powerful neighbor but on the other, they need to maintain cohesion among asean neighbors. all eyes are now on whether brunei's diplomats can solve th difcult equation. nhk world, kuala lumpur. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. emerging economic powers

still struggling with poverty. embolden citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on southeast asia every week day live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." there's heavy snow in west coast japan blocking roads and causing havoc. robert speta is here with the latest. robert? yes, gene. actually, we have this cutoff low continuing to spin over okaido right now. it is bringing gusty winds, whiteout conditions already being seen across okaido. that sea effect snow continues to spin up. i want to show you video coming out of okaido showing you what it looks like on the ground. a different picture than what you see on the satellite. whiteout conditions.

all the cars slowing down on the road. visibility is greatly reduced throughout the day to day. this is out of hokaido on friday morning. just shows you how heavy the snow is. needless to say, many officials are asking people to stay indoors across okaido and china. the storm continues to kick up here. all of the lines close together, indicating northwesterly wind, piling up along the west coast of the japanese mountains here. you will see in some areas nearly a meter of snowfall from friday into saturday evening. especially down toward the south near negara, much of the region, seeing very heavy snow. good news toward tokyo, not much happening here at all. staying on the dry side throughout the weekend. temperatures will drop off. expected to see a cooldown. not too much snow at all. here to the philippines, also watching an area of convection, just this thunderstorm activity. and bring us heavy rainshowers persisting some time now.

and seeing the risk of flooding. temperatures rather tropical to the 30s. shanghai at 11, and off toward tokyo. actually starting to see a cooldown. 6 for the high on saturday. now, we take a look toward the americas, watching some cold air move across the great lakes, and much of the northeast. this is still bringing snowfall as well. this area of low pressure. 5 to 10 centimeters across much of the area. seeing airport delays in places like chicago. and expect it to shift to the east coast and also the freezing rain in tennessee, very well could be accumulating, up to a half centimeter in some areas here. that will pile up on branches, on the trees, power lines, power outages, a major threat as that continues to move across much of

the area. behind it, things will be drying off. but to the southeast. look at los angeles. seeing some rainshowers here throughout the next several days. high of 18. denver, well above average. 14 for the high. very different story in winnipeg. minus 21. good news by next week it will warm back up tthe freezing mark. something to look forward to i guess. here to the british isles, looking at snowfall. an area of low pressure moving overhead. that will start to the northern portions of the uk and work its way toward the south through saturday. gradually tapering off by saturday afternoon. you will get a little bit of a break, by sunday, another storm system working its way through. not too much of a break on tap.

the next one a little stronger. here to the balkans, toward turkey. you will see some severe weather actually. been seeing it. the fuel, the moisture coming in out of the mediterranean, adding with this gusty wind, up to 100 kilometers per hour. heavy snowfall farther out toward the north. temperatures remain on the chilly side. kiev, minus 13. slight warmup in london and paris. 7 and 5 going through your saturday. after the front begins to pass by. here is a look at your extended forecast. we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, have a great day, wherever you are.

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